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TEN YOGA WAYS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRIT QUICKLY IN THIS NEW YEAR

12/31/2018

Anytime in 2019 when you're feeling sluggish, unmotivated, perhaps sad, try one or more of these simple vedic but effective ways to life your spirit.

1. Yoga. Sure, this may be the last thing you really want to do but physical activity is good for body, mind and spirit. The great thing about yoga is that you can match the yoga to your mood. If you're dragging, try a high intensity vinyassa flow. If you're really worn out, a passive Yin class could be ideal.

2. Meditate. Ten minutes of silently focusing on your breathing - inhaling and exhaling - can leave you feel refreshed mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically.3. Chant. Chanting a mantra lifts you spirits no matter how low they may be.
4. Inspire yourself. Tune into a podcast of someone who has overcome a major life trauma. This will inspire you to keep chipping away at whatever issue you face.
5. Create a gratitude list. Write down a dozen things which are good, right, positive in your life. Don't think too much about it or censor yourself. Just let the gratitude flow out of you.
6. Practice generosity. Donate money to a person in need or to a charity. "There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up” noted John Holmes.
7. Change your posture. Your body reflects how you feel. Hold your head high, straighten your back when you walk anywhere.
8. Spend time in nature. Take a long, leisurely stroll through the neighborhood, a park or a forested area. Nature soothes. Author Sylvia Plath observed: "I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy.' "
9. Smile more. This means smiling at everyone you encounter. Make eye contact as you smile. Yoko Ono says: "Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life."
10. Affirmations. Create or select a positive, life affirming phrase and repeat it several times a day. Some examples - I can do this! I am confident and capable! I can deal with this! Make this a habit and you be sure to cut back on so much negative self-talk that we all do.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

12/31/2018

Not every obstacle is
meant to be overcome.
May be it's there to make
you change direction or
become stronger,
smarter, more humble.
- Victor M. Parachin

THE BUDDHIST WAY TO APPROACH A NEW YEAR

12/30/2018

When it comes to a new year, Buddhism encourages people to challenge themselves and the Buddhist way to approach a new year is to look back at your life for the past year and ask these types of questions:

What went well?
What didn't go well?
Did you notice any patterns?

Based on that self-reflection, begin to shape your intentions for a new year with that in mind. This is the Buddhist style for moving into the New Year with awareness and wisdom.

(please feel free to re-post and/or share on your social media)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

12/30/2018

Most of what we think about ourselves is negative and if you really face those thoughts, you will realize that they are wrong. Challenge the thoughts you have about yourself. - Alice D. Domar

SEEING OTHER PEOPLE AS "THIEVES AND ENEMIES"

12/29/2018

Sheng Yen was a Modern Chinese Buddhist Zen Master and founder of Taiwan’s Institute of Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies and Dharma Drum Mountain. In one of his teachings he addressed the question of why so many people around the planet feel stress and anxiety. His answer is worthy of more thought -

"What are people nowadays concerned about the most? About themselves! How do they show their concern for themselves? By being defensive, guarding against any harm or loss that may be brought about by the people they encounter. When they’re not doing this, they themselves contrive to reap gains and benefit from others. In this way, we live in stress. We approach the people we meet as thieves and enemies. We frighten ourselves, which adds only more stress."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

12/29/2018

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through spae with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty. - John Muir

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS . . . THE BUDDHIST WAY

12/28/2018

This time of year is tough - very tough - for many people. Only last week there was a heartbreaking incident near my home where a person was perched on the ledge of a major highway overpass. The person was despondent over the holidays. Fortunately, officials were able to console and persuade the person to come down and receive assistance.
Here are three suggestions for enjoying your holiday.....the Buddhist way:

1. Work to enjoy the holiday you’re having, not the one you were hoping for. Try releasing expectations shaped by the past. This is a different time, you, your family and friends are different people.

2. Don't compare yourself with others. Yes, others may look happier, wealthier, more successful, etc, etc, etc. But all of that is very deceptive. Many people are just like you, all feeling the pressures and stresses of the holiday season in their own way.

3. Manage the holiday, don't let it manage you. The real meaning of the holiday revolves around kindness, compassion, generosity, spiritual friendship. Those are qualities you inherently have. Begin to share and sow those seeds with those around and your holiday will be more meaningful and uplifting for you.

(Please feel free to repost and/or share on your social media)

THAILAND BUDDHIST MONKS ARE GAINING TOO MUCH WEIGHT

12/28/2018

According to the website www.buddhistdoor.com, health officials in Thailand have urged the country’s monastic sangha to take better care of their health as unhealthy diets and sedentary lives are leading to a crisis in the Buddhist community, characterized an increase in obesity and a greater incidence of lifestyle-related diseases.

Part of the problem stems from the tradition of offering alms to Buddhist monks, which is widely practiced in Thailand as way of demonstrating respect for monastics and as a means of earning karmic merit. In the early hours of the morning, across the country, monks walk through their local communities to collect offerings of food provided by lay Buddhists. Unfortunately, many of the offerings on which the monks subsist are loaded with sugar, fat, and oil, compounding the growing health crisis.

This is where tradition does not serve Buddhism. Today's dietary offerings are very compared to the food offerings made in the Buddha's time when food was more locally grown and consumed with added refined products. A more update practice of "gathering" can be seen via Chinese Buddhist monks who carry begging bowls but, instead of depositing food items, supporters give money.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, with 93.2 per cent of the nation’s population of 69 million identifying as Buddhists, according to 2010 data from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center. The country has more than 40,000 Buddhist temples and some 300,000 monks.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

12/28/2018

Life doesn't tend to get easier but you get stronger. You learn to show up more, cope better and be more conscious. - Brendon Burchard

"MEDITATION IS LIKE BEING STUCK IN A PHONE BOOTH WITH A CRAZY PERSON" . . . WHAT????

12/27/2018

Meditator and author James Porter writes about his understanding of a meditation retreat: "One of my meditation teachers, author and Harvard Professor, Ron Siegel, said that going on a meditation retreat is kind of like being stuck in a phone booth with a crazy person. That crazy person of course is you. Mindfulness meditators refer to this craziness - that occurs when you start to meditate - as “monkey mind.” Your mind jumps from one thought to another like a monkey jumps from branch to branch in a tree."

That's an interesting take. Porter also adds his own observation and experience with meditation saying it's "enormously helpful. As author and meditation expert, Jon Kabat Zinn likes to say: “there’s no such thing as a bad meditation.” Experts often say meditation is like doing weight-training reps at the gym. The more repetitions you do, the stronger you get."

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TEN YOGA WAYS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRIT QUICKLY IN THIS NEW YEAR

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE BUDDHIST WAY TO APPROACH A NEW YEAR

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

SEEING OTHER PEOPLE AS "THIEVES AND ENEMIES"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAYS . . . THE BUDDHIST WAY

THAILAND BUDDHIST MONKS ARE GAINING TOO MUCH WEIGHT

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"MEDITATION IS LIKE BEING STUCK IN A PHONE BOOTH WITH A CRAZY PERSON" . . . WHAT????

Victor M. Parachin ...is a

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